This letter is to inform you of serious, unrecognized, permanent, arthritic finger injuries developing in our young children in pre-school, elementary, and day care facilities from too much coloring, computers, and video gaming conducted during their soft bone ages. Injuries resulting in thumb and hand use loss.

Our research (prompted by our own children’s injuries) discovered the presence of Kinetic Energy (KE) shock loading forces in the processes of coloring, computers, texting, and video gaming. The KE shock loads inflict permanent, accumulative physical damages, which result in arthritic finger curvatures, twisted knuckles, and fingers off perpendicular to their hands. As shown on our web site www.miketomich.com some children will not be able to perform meaningful physical activities and support themselves as adults

Typically, injuries physically appear within 3-8 weeks because their bones are too soft for the repetitive motion KE forces. Their small bones are still growing and they will not be fully calcified hard until after puberty. Having soft bones means the “Material Creep” force tolerance threshold value of their soft bone mass is very low. The lower the threshold value the easier the bone mass enters into its destructive plastic state. Plastic state means the bone mass bends (but does not break) and does not return to its original shape after the force is removed. Every KE force that exceeds the strength of a bone mass inflicts an injury that permanently enlarges the prior injury. Once an injury of this type starts…it continues to deform with simple physical tasks required in life. Refer to Section 3 of our book “Our Silent Epidemic” devoted to children’s injuries (free downloads on our home page).If an x-ray is performed do not allow a technician to pull and place children’s fingers straight on the film. To do so would hide the off parallelism of the joints.

Young children (very soft bones) quickly develop bent/curved/twisted knuckle arthritic fingers, because of the strong KE forces present in the repetitive grasping motions and each coloring stroke. The crayon-grasping surface and the coloring stroke result in their bones absorbing all forces exceeding the forces required to perform the process. Child Care Facilities must remove broken crayons from use, discontinue taping crayons to children’s hands, and stop recycling broken crayons (melting them in containers-Dixie cups, etc.). Read pages 3-43 thru 3-51 in our book “Our Silent Epidemic” for identification of the various forms of destructive Kinetic Energy in a coloring stroke process. This is the first historical explanation of the presence of damaging KE in a coloring stroke, and presence of material creep.

The first sign of normal hand functional loss is children’s difficulty handling small items. This happens because all fingers and tendons are out of natural position. Because the tips of their thumbs become bent outward (away from the hand), they lose the ability to grasp or carry weighted items between the tip of the thumb and hand. They have to substitute the first knuckle of the thumb for this task. Note: The faster Kinetic Energy shock loads are generated and delivered, the farther the material mass enters into the vicious plastic state. Every KE shock load delivers a strong numbing effect blow to the injury area. This is why children develop their deformities without pain/discomfort. White knuckle grasping of a vibrating game controller is deadly to their bone structures, because the pulsations inflict instant deformity.

Unless you act to prevent the further infliction of these injuries in schools, our children will continue to develop hand injuries with functional losses resulting in a negative quality of life. Many children addicted to video gaming (using computers, x-box, portable, etc) will lose their independence and meaningful wage earning abilities because of crippling arthritic hands.

Microsoft executives said in a meeting at Senator Joe Lieberman’s office on 11-14-07 that they are aware children develop injured fingers from gaming. HP has since added the words “skeletal injury” notations to their keyboards.

Video gaming and stiff steering vehicles became popular at the same time. Thus, children and adults have both been subjected to KE injuries since that time (mid 80’s). To verify children’s finger deformities compare them to physically impaired children that have not performed coloring, used computers, played video games, heavy toys, or toys with buttons they strike/slap with their hands/fingers. You will see their fingers are straight and without arthritic curvatures.

Until “material creep” values can be determined for all ages (which we do not presently have resources for), age restrictions are necessary to prevent initial and continuing injuries. We hope you will take actions to prevent children from coloring, using computers or video gaming until their bones are calcified enough to withstand the injuries from internal stress caused by outside forces. If you should decide against use restrictions, it would behoove you to inform parents and let them decide their children’s future.

Since our initial discovery of “material creep” relative to dynamic Kinetic Energy forces our research has lead us to a new science that will result in generous major rewards to human health. An equal consideration of the biological and structural aspects of the human body is a necessity to eliminate our modern-day chronic health problems brought on by the electronic age and vehicle designs not compatible with our natural body. The negative common denominator has been discovered and you are having the pleasure of witnessing a new future without arthritis.

Suggested sequence for viewing our information is provided in a school link, which is centered, and immediately below our web site heading titled “Warnings to ALL Schools”.

Section 1 Letter submitted to Michigan, Federal Officials, Video, Computer, Coloring, and Automotive officials.Section 2 List Michigan school districts, superintendents and board members contacted. Some school districts and states are conducting their own study of our web site. If you haven't heard from your school board yet...it would behoove you to contact your child's school to see what corrective actions they plan and when.

Section 2 of 2

List of school district superintendents and board members contacted. If you haven't heard from your school board yet...it would behoove you to contact your child's school to see what corrective actions they plan to take and when.

Akron-Fairgrove Central OfficeArmada Area SchoolsAtherton Community SchoolsAvondale SchoolsBad Axe Public SchoolsBeal City Public SchoolsBendle Public SchoolsBerkley School DistrictBirch Run School DistrictBirmingham School DistrictBloomfield Hills School DistrictBrandon School DistrictBridgeport-Spalding SchoolsBuena Vista School DistrictBullock Creek Schools - AdministrationCaro Community SchoolsCarrolton Public SchoolsCarman-Ainsworth School DistrictCass City Public SchoolsChesaning Union SchoolsChippewa Valley SchoolsChippewa School District IChippewa School District IIClarenceville School DistrictClarkston Community SchoolsClawson Public SchoolsClintondale SchoolsClio Area SchoolsColeman School District - AdministrationDavison Community Schools East Detroit Public SchoolsElkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker SchoolsFarmington Public Schools

Fenton Area Public SchoolsFerndale Public SchoolsFitzgerald Public SchoolsFlint Community SchoolsFlushing Community SchoolsFrankenmuth SchoolsFraser Public SchoolsFreeland Community School DistrictGenesee Intermediate School DistrictGenesee School DistrictGoodrich SchoolsGrand Blanc SchoolsGrand Rapids Public School DistrictHazel Park School DistrictHarbor Beach Community School DistrictHemlock Public SchoolsHolly Area SchoolsHowell Public SchoolsHuron Valley Schools Kearsley Community SchoolsKingston School DistrictLake Fenton Community SchoolsLake Orion Community SchoolsLakeshore Public SchoolsLakeview Public SchoolsLakeVille Community SchoolsLamphere SchoolsL’Anse Creuse School DistrictLansing School DistrictLinden Community SchoolsMacomb Intermediate School DistrictMadison District SchoolsMayville SchoolsMerrill Community Schools

Midland County Educational Service AgencyMidland Public SchoolsMillington Public SchoolsMount Clemens Community School DistrictMt. Morris Consolidated SchoolsMt. Pleasant Public SchoolsMontrose Community SchoolsNorth Huron SchoolsNew Haven Community SchoolsOak Park Community SchoolsOwen-Gage Schools Oxford SchoolsPontiac School DistrictRichmond Community SchoolsRochester Community SchoolsRomeo Community SchoolsRoseville Community SchoolsRoyal Oak Community SchoolsSaginaw Public SchoolsSaginaw Township Community Schools South Lake SchoolsSouth Lyon Community SchoolsSouthfield Public SchoolsSt. Charles Community SchoolsSwan Valley SchoolsSwartz Creek Community SchoolsTroy Public SchoolsTuscola Intermediate School DistrictUbly Community SchoolsUtica Community SchoolsVan Dyke Public SchoolsWalled Lake SchoolsWarren Consolidated SchoolsWarren Woods School DistrictWaterford School DistrictWest Bloomfield SchoolsWestwood Heights Schools